The challenger sale - Matthew Dixon

The need to understand what top-performing reps are doing that their
average performing colleagues are not drove Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson,
and their colleagues at Corporate Executive Board to investigate the
skills, behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes that matter most for high
performance. And what they discovered may be the biggest shock to
conventional sales wisdom in decades.

Based on an exhaustive study of thousands of sales reps across
multiple industries and geographies, The Challenger Sale argues
that classic relationship building is a losing approach, especially when
it comes to selling complex, large-scale business-to-business solutions.
The authors' study found that every sales rep in the world falls into one
of five distinct profiles, and while all of these types of reps can
deliver average sales performance, only one-the Challenger- delivers
consistently high performance.

Instead of bludgeoning customers with endless facts and features about
their company and products, Challengers approach customers with unique
insights about how they can save or make money. They tailor their sales
message to the customer's specific needs and objectives. Rather than
acquiescing to the customer's every demand or objection, they are
assertive, pushing back when necessary and taking control of the sale.

The things that make Challengers unique are replicable and teachable to
the average sales rep. Once you understand how to identify the
Challengers in your organization, you can model their approach and embed
it throughout your sales force. The authors explain how almost any
average-performing rep, once equipped with the right tools, can
successfully reframe customers' expectations and deliver a distinctive
purchase experience that drives higher levels of customer loyalty and,
ultimately, greater growth.